Identity

By Cynthia A
There’s a common truism doled out whenever someone is going through a difficult time: “God never gives us more than we can handle.” I have in fact told it to myself, in times past, as a form of comfort. But recently, I’ve come to question the truth of the idea, or rather, to seek out a more nuanced interpretation of what trials mean in our lives. This is partly because people occasionally tell me I must be an extraordinary person whenever I’m going through something particularly ...

Women in today’s world seem to be caught between two, diverse camps--the be-tough-like-men group and the keep-your-femininity-at-all-costs. I’m not sure why we find ourselves at either extreme, or why anyone is trying to tell us that we have to choose one or the other to be “real” women.
I, for one, am not buying that. I think it is a dangerous concept and does not take into consideration all the varieties of women who are different ages, at different stages in life, have unique or diverse ci...

By Inna B
I was born in Russia and immigrated to the United States with my mother at age fourteen. I never had had to explicitly ponder my identity before, but suddenly one was assigned to me when I started high school in a small rural town in Florida. I was “that Russian girl,” “that foreign girl,” or “the girl with the funny accent.” My name was mispronounced in all ways possible. My personality or other qualities seemed to matter less than this new identity. Everything I did or said could ...